Onesto, an Italian restaurant, opens for lunch and dinner in the Third Ward on Monday

House-made pastas will be on the menu when Onesto opens at 221 N. Broadway in the Third Ward at 11 a.m. on Monday.

That's the former site of Bourbon & Tunns and the longtime Palms Bistro. The new restaurant is by Hospitality Democracy, which also owns Swig, Smoke Shack, Water Buffalo and the new Holey Moley doughnut shop in the same neighborhood, among other restaurants.

Two Italian restaurants in the Third Ward, Third Ward Caffe and Graffito, closed last year. The Third Ward historically had a large Sicilian population, from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.

The new restaurant is something of an homage to the Italian restaurant in which one Hospitality Democracy partner, Joe Sorge, grew up. Sorge said in spring when he announced Onesto that he worked in his immigrant grandparents' restaurant from ages 11 to 18, and the food at Onesto would reflect that background but be brought up to date.

So, the opening menu has appetizers like spreads in jars (such as white bean puree with walnut pesto, or the house ricotta with tomato confit, $7) and mussels ($12) steamed in white wine and served with the restaurant's own ciabatta.

Among salads are arugula with prosciutto and oyster mushrooms ($10) and fennel, zucchini and arugula ($9) with dried cherres and pine nuts.

The house-made pastas include sweet corn ravioli ($14) and spaghetti with bolognese sauce made with beef brisket ($18).

Entrees include seared scallops with cauliflower and pistachio pesto ($22) and cannelloni made from grilled eggplant ($15, pictured above). The menu is expected to change somewhat in the coming weeks, Sorge said.

At the bar, four wines are on tap, including a Finger Lakes Riesling, Gotham ($9 for 5 ounces, $13 for 8 ounces, $50 a liter). Other wines by the bottle -- about a dozen reds and a dozen whites, including sparklers -- are predominantly from Italy, and the majority are available by the glass.

Beers include four crafts on tap, with a mix of craft, Italian and macro brewers about the dozen or so bottles. The cocktail list includes a spin on a Negroni that adds grape shrub to the gin-vermouth-Campari drink (prices weren't listed on an advance copy of the menu).

Onesto's hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

To contact: (414) 308-1600.

Onesto photo

About Carol Deptolla

Carol Deptolla is the Journal Sentinel dining critic. She also reports on restaurants, bars and other food- and drink-related businesses.